High Intensity Interval Training, also known as HIIT, is one of those fat burning workouts that mustn’t be missed from your training schedule. HIIT involves varied work to rest ratio’s, ranging from a 10 second all-out sprint up to a slightly more gruelling 3 minute interval, followed by short, active recovery periods. These short bursts of exercise with minimal recovery keep the heart rate high, eliciting that fast fat burning effect that we all thrive for!

If the ‘fat burning effect’ isn’t enough, let’s take a look at some other benefits…

Nowadays, it’s all about training SMART… training for 1-2 hours per session is old news, and, well, so dull. Traditionally, low intensity endurance exercise was the only way to build performance indicators. Now, HIIT allows for the same, if not more, improvement in these parameters and most importantly, in a considerably less amount of time- yes, a reduced volume and a smarter approach to training! Completing a workout in less than 25 minutes, with additional benefits sounds good, right?

If you’re thinking you can’t bear another treadmill session, don’t hang up your trainers just yet! You can easily smash a HIIT session with a mix of bodyweight exercises focused to build core, upper body and leg strength. It’s a great way to work on the important strength aspects as well as benefitting from an intense cardio workout. It’s not uncommon to be put off by the words ‘High Intensity’ but with HIIT, every session is relevant and can be tailored to your specific fitness levels. Yes, HIIT is hard- but it’s also extremely achievable.

How to incorporate HIIT into your workout in 5 simple ways

Ease yourself in – We’ve already established that HIIT is an intense workout; if your body is not used to short bursts of exercise then it’s unlikely it’ll able to withstand a full-on HIIT session for the first time, so let’s not expect it to. As with anything, it’ll take time. Gradually build the intervals into each session day by day. Simply add a couple of 30/40-second efforts into your cardio workout and before you know it, you’ll be smashing a full 25-minute HIIT session and won’t ever look back!

Get specific and add variety – HIIT can be used for all sorts of specific training, for example, speed, endurance, hills etc. So, before attempting to find a hill to make your way up, think about attacking that hill in a HIIT based approach. You’ve got to get up to the top anyway, so you may as well gain more from it. Don’t just amble up the hill, get on your toes and get the heart rate pumping, set yourself targets to meet. The best thing about HIIT is you don’t need a gym, a treadmill, a bike- all you need is a space and motivation. Mix it up, add variety, incorporate two of the above; give yourself 5 hill climbs, with a faster shorter effort in-between to build speed. Or, stay at home, find yourself a space and set yourself 5 different exercises and complete for 45 seconds with 15 recovery. For example, squat jumps, skipping, burpees, split lunge and mountain climbers.

Structure your training schedule – Ideally, we want to aim for at least 2 HIIT sessions per week. These sessions need to be intense, fat burning, stimulating and rewarding. So, think about your whole week, not just the training programme, think about work, family etc. and structure your HIIT sessions effectively. It’s a waste of time doing a HIIT session if your body is just not up to it. Having a solid structure to your training schedule will avoid any possibilities of this happening. There’s no point in smashing ‘leg day’ and then expect your legs to carry you through a demanding hill session the following day. It’s just not going to happen!

Recovery – To get the most out of HIIT, don’t over train, give yourself time to recover. Every HIIT session needs to be attacked with high energy to make an impact, if you’re thinking about doing a half-hearted HIIT session, think again, and think recovery!

Enjoyment – Choose exercises you know you’ll enjoy. If you don’t like running, don’t- it’s that simple! There are plenty of other exercises that can provide HIIT that is going to push you to the max.

Sample HIIT sessions

Sample 1

Work (s)

Rest (s)

Reps

Notes

60

30

4

Longer reps for endurance.

90

40

20

5

Half the rest to work ratio really tests and improves recovery.

90

30

15

6

90

20

10

7

Shorter reps to build speed

Sample 2

Work (s)

Rest (s)

Sets

Notes

60

60

Repeat set 3 times.

Encourage the same pace/intensity/power throughout each effort. First effort may seem easy but will get harder as recovery drops.

60

45

60

30

During the third set, keep 5x 60 reps the same but mix up the recovery.

60

15

60

120

Can save longest recovery (60 s) before last effort to encourage a really high quality final rep.

We are all wired differently, some of us will be better at long distance cardio while others will do much better at short sharper interval training. Regardless of these two facts there is one thing we all have In common, and that is we where all born to move.

One of the great things about interval training is that it can be highly effective for a beginners but also to the more advanced individual. Our team of personal trainers at Square Mile Fitness have come up with a few tips on how to effectively include interval training (HIIT) into your current workout program.

The Benefits

Interval training is a fantastic way of getting into incredible shape, getting fit whist saving time in the process due to its great response within the body. The perfect interval program should deliver the following

Leave you feeling a mess but incredible after

Improve your conditioning over long and short distances

Better your bone density, lowering risk of injury

Burn a bucket load of calories

Last less that 35 minutes

Leave you burning fat even after your workout is over

More on interval training

Now even though HIIT (High intensity interval training) may seem easy on paper and the though of being in and out of the gym in less than an hour sounds awesome there is a catch, interval training is tough! HIIT will challenge you both physically and mentally, some days you may even feel to pull the pin during your workout, but don’t, keep going and you’ll reap the many rewards that interval training has to offer. On the other hand as this style or workout utilizes many different rest to work ratios you’ll notice that the sessions are over before you know it, this defiantly beats the mental slog of running at a steady pace for 60 plus minutes right?

How To Get Started With Interval Training

If currently you do on include HIIT within your workout plan here are a few pointer on how to get you started. If exercise is very new to you and you do not feel comfortable running on the treadmill at high speeds you can start with a walking/ jog protocol. Try to incorporate interval training into your plan 2 times per week to help build your confidence and fitness levels. To mix things up try to alternate between incline walks then jogging flat. As a beginner you should utilize longer rest periods up to three times the amount of your working sets. You can use this approach to cardio on many forms of equipment like the bike or cross trainer to shake thins up a little.

Short Intense Intervals

If your primary goal is to improve conditioning or peak power then shorter intervals with less rest will work a treat. This sort of workout can have a great anabolic response, help you to build lean muscle and get ripped!

Here are a few examples of Interval training using shorter rest periods.

Sample workout 1

8x 10 seconds fast with 50 seconds recovery

6x 15 seconds fast with 45 seconds recovery

4x 20 seconds fast with 60 seconds recovery

Sample workout 2

7x 15 seconds fast with 75 seconds recovery

5x 25 seconds fast with 90 seconds recovery

3x 30 seconds fast with 100 seconds recovery

Endurance based intervals

If on the other hand endurance is the goal hand but you would still like to improve speed whilst retaining muscle mass your go to can still be interval training.

Here are a few examples of some endurance Interval workouts

Sample workout 1

6x 35 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

5x 45 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

4x 60 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

Sample workout 2

5x 45 seconds fast with 45 seconds recovery

4x 60 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

3x 90 seconds fast with 60 seconds recovery

HIIT Training with weights

Sample workout 1

Exercise Reps/Sets Tempo Rest

A1 Squats 3×12-15 4010 30

A2 Lat pull-down 3×12-15 3010 30

B1 Leg curl 3×8-10 4010 30

B2 Chest press 3×10-12 3110 30

C1 Leg press 3×15-20 2010 30

C2 Seated row 3×15-20 2011 30

We hope this article has given you the motivation to safely try some interval training, if you have any questions please do get in touch.

I have the pleasure of working one of the best gyms in the City Of London, a setup with comprises of 4 businesses, City Athletic, The Sweat Shop, The Altitude Centre and Perfect Balance.

You will not find all of this under one roof anywhere else in The City of London so I consider myself very lucky and grateful to be able to work with all these amazing people.

For the past 30 or so months I have been doing the majority of my training in The Altitude Center and we now have this sort of love hate relationship!

“Why “ you ask, well purely because the sessions have been so hard yet rewarding t the same time.

So, What is Altitude Training and how will it benefit you?

The Room is set to 15% O2 (2708m), sea level being 20.9%. The reason it is set at this height is because this is the perfect balance between getting the benefits from the hypoxic air as well and being able to function and perform to your near maximum. Any higher and athletes would seriously struggle to hit target times, recover and to perform at high intensities.

Hypoxic air:

Training at Altitude is intended to provide a stimulus for the adaptation of an individual’s cardiovascular system by means of breathing reduced oxygen. The benefits of training with reduced oxygen intake will induce mechanisms of compensation. The goal of Altitude Training is to achieve higher physical performance and wellbeing through improved oxygen metabolism.

The main benefit that many individuals are looking for is the increase in red blood cells to increase oxygen delivery to the working muscles.

Training at higher Altitudes can help increase your work capacity, so you will be able to get more out of your training session. This is due to extra oxygen being delivered to your working muscle (your body being used to working with little oxygen, it now thrives at sea level), thus promoting quicker recoveries between reps, sets, intervals, and exercises

Here is one of the Interval sessions I got put through last week, which was very hard!

3 x 2 minutes (1 minute recovery) @ 1/2/4 %

2-minute recovery

4 x 90 seconds (45 seconds recovery) @ 1/2/4/6 %

2.5-minute recovery

5 x 1 minute (30 seconds recovery) @ 1/2/4/6/8 %

If you would like to take your Training to greater heights please get in touch and one of our Personal Trainers In The City Of London would be delighted to help.

Now I am sure you’ve heard the terms HIIT or interval training thrown around especially in these summer months, but what is HIIT training?

High intensity interval training is or can be rather, a cardiovascular-based training style, which involves periods of lower and higher bouts of effort.

So if we were to take running as an example you would (high intensity interval training) have periods of time where you would be working hard then you would also have a set recovery time. During the high intensity portion of this workout also know as the sprint portion, you are required to exert near maximal efforts for a short amount of time to gain the most out of this style of training. The benefits of the sprint part of this workout could be aimed to improve your speed and power. The great thing about intervals is that they can be tailored and individualized depending on your goals plus fitness levels. For an individual wanting to improve their endurance they would use longer “sprint” periods, one way you could do this is by using a 1:1 ratio where the work time and rest times are the same, you could also use lower rest periods and higher work times.

Take it outside: why not go to your local park or running track and try interval training (HIIT) for distance or time, this is a great ways to jazz things up and you will definitely feel the burn!

More benefits of HIIT

General Health – studies have show that cardiovascular can lower the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and metabolic syndromes.

Time efficiency – Its short s and very effective is one of the numerous benefits to HIIT training. High intensity interval training can last anything from 6-25 minutes; now who wouldn’t commit to 10 minutes a day 3x times per week to look and feel much better?

Feel good- when I mentioned, “feel good” I really did mean that. When you exercise the body releases endorphins, now these bad boy are know as the happy hormones. Have you ever heard someone say, “that workout was tough, but man I felt great after”? Endorphins will lift your mood; self esteem, energize you and as result leave you feeling pretty damn good!

The metabolic effect- EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) you’re probably thinking “what on earth has that got to do with me”? so here Is what, the greater the EPOC post workout the greater the calories expenditure during the recovery window which can last up to 24 hours so you’ll be burning calories just sitting at your desk.

Now if you like the sound of Interval training (HIIT) but are not sure where to start; I have created beginners, intimidate and advanced workouts for you to try.

Beginners

20 seconds work 90 seconds recovery x 6

Intermediate

30 seconds work 60 seconds recovery x8

Advanced

30 seconds work 30 seconds recovery x10

For more information on HIIT (High intensity interval training ) and our other personal training services please get in contact.

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